Star TV set to launch Pop Idol

After KBC and a host of adaptations, Star India is set to launch another big new show called `Pop Idol'. Based on an international format quite popular on BBC in the UK and Fox Network in the US, Star is hoping that the show will strike a similar chord with the Indian audiences.

According to Star, the show is a mixture of entertainment, reality TV and talent hunt, scouting for a pop idol. According to industry sources, the show is set to be on a large scale, with a big budget.

And it's not Star which is relying on imports. Other channels have been doing the same. Sony recently launched an Indianised version of `Russian Roulette' called Bachke Rehna and Zee's Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai is loosely based on BBC's `It's Your Life'. Earlier, `Movers and Shakers' was a take off on NBC's `Jay Leno' show. But what really has been the fate of adaptations from international formats? The strike rate has not been very high.

Barring KBC, which turned the fortunes for Star, others such as Kamzor Kadii Kaun (KKK) and Ji Mantriji have not created magic. Star has given the former a break and has not decided when to launch Ji Pradhan Mantriji, a sequel to the latter. Internationally, `The Weakest Link' and `Yes Minister' were runaway successes.